Prepare for brewing tea -- an activity that warrants attention to
appreciate fully.Boil water.Avoid
using treated tap water. Bottled spring
water or reverse osmosis filtered water is recommended, unless you
are blessed with fine-tasting well water.
Arrange your teaware in the setting you wish to brew tea. Your
teaware and style of brewing tea are your own
to acquire and develop. "Gong
Fu" in Chinese means acquired skill and effective technique. Hence,
the word is used to describe anything that demonstrates a developed
skill. The following "Gong
Fu" method of brewing tea has been developed for Oolong teas,
most prevalent in Taiwan.

A scoop is used to put the desired amount
of tealeaves in your teapot. For smaller, classic "Gong Fu" style
teapots, about 20% of the pot's volume is recommended; in other
words, slightly less than a quarter-full of dried leaves. For
larger pots, decrease the proportion.

Place
the lid on the teapot and pour the water into the tea pitcher after
5 seconds. This moistens and rinses the tealeaves -- "waking
them up", and warms the teapot. Remove the lid and refill with
hot water.

Pour the "first rinse" from the tea pitcher into the whiffer
cups.

Pour
the "first rinse" from the drinking cups and the remainder
of the "first rinse" from the picture into the bowl
you have prepared, or in a drain tray.

Pour the "first rinse" from the whiffer cups
into the drinking cups. This warms and rinses all the vessels
being used, preparing them for the first brew.

Pour
the first brew into the tea pitcher. RECOMMENDED BREWING TIME
IS ABOUT 50 SECONDS. Refill the teapot for the second brew.

Pour the first brew from the tea pitcher into the whiffer
cups.

Serve
the tea in the whiffer cup and allow the recipient to pour it
from the whiffer cup into the drinking cup. The whiffer cup should
be held to the nose upon pouring the tea out to experience the
aroma. This is the first sampling of the tea, before tasting.
With each repeated brew, increase the brewing time by 10-20 seconds.
Being aware of the brewing time and gauging it intuitively as
you taste the tea is one aspect of developing "Gong Fu"
in your brewing skills. You don't need a clock, you just have
to be present.
Quality tea brewed "Gong Fu" style normally brews at
least five tasteful pots of tea. Brewing by this method allows
you to notice the variations in flavor and aroma with each cup.
Brewing for short intervals with a concentrated amount of leaves
allows you to experience the tea as-it-brews, rather than a final
product of one big cup or pot -- that is brewed longer with less
tea.
The magic of serving several people many times out of such a small
and beautiful vessel is part of the intrigue and informal ritual
that is experienced in "Gong Fu Tea".